Things can always be worse

Petoskey to Charlevoix bike trail view... kinda nice.

It started out as a promising day.  The birds were singing, the sun was shining, we enjoyed about .4 miles of no peddling as we coasted down the hills we'd climbed so laboriously just the previous afternoon.  The first leg of our ride took us from Petoskey to Charlevoix on an excellent bike trail.  19 paved miles, lots of beautiful views of the lake, not too much wind.  Perfect ride. The next leg of the ride was from Charlevoix to Elk Rapids.  We weren't sure what we would find in the 30-something miles between these two locations, so we stopped at Subway and tied a couple sandwiches to the tops of our overstuffed panniers so they couldn't get away.

About two miles South of Charlevoix, David's back tire went flat.  We found ourselves in front of a collision shop, so it was convenient to have the tire inflated properly after he changed the inner tube.  This did set us back a bit, though, and we knew more storms were headed our way, so the goal was to make it as far as possible before the showers began.  About a mile later, David's front tire went flat, so we found ourselves delayed once again as he used up his last fresh inner tube.  Just as he replaced his front tire, the sky started to rumble.  Dark clouds were moving in quickly, about two hours before we expected them.  The only choice we had was to turn around and ride back to civilization to ride this out.  We took shelter just in time at Gruler's Farm Supply, which is just south of Charlevoix, and if you are ever in the area and in need of such supplies, please bring them your business.  They were very kind to us.  We spent over an hour there before the rescue team arrived.

At first we thought we'd wait it out and ride the rest of the way to Traverse City, but it wasn't clear how long this would take, so we called in the kids to fetch us and drive us to Elk Rapids. For their pains, we gave them money for lunch.  We considered having them drive us to Traverse City and calling the 24 miles we'd completed good, but we knew we'd feel better both physically and mentally if we finished the ride on bikes.  We put in a total of only 38.5 miles on a day scheduled for 64 miles, but there are some things that cannot be helped.  We used up our last lifeline by hitching a ride with the kids.  From here on, if we get stranded, we're on our own.



As I watched the rain from the farm supply store, I thought about David's dreams of riding across the country some day, and I started wondering why he would want to do such a thing.  So far, our trips haven't been as smooth as our fantasies about trips have been.

The ride from Elk Rapids to Traverse City was uneventful, thankfully.  We did still have a headwind to fight, we ran into some tough hills, and my legs were killing me.  The thought of finishing this bike trip was overwhelming enough, so I couldn't imagine riding all the way across country.  But as we fought the hills and wind, I remembered that you can't take on all of those miles at once.  They're too heavy.  Maybe that's why when David offered to consult Map My Ride yesterday to see what the terrain on our path ahead looked like, I declined. He suggested that finding out there was a lot of downhill riding might encourage us.  I thought that finding out there was a lot of uphill riding would do the opposite. Traveling this way should slow life down.  It is unhelpful to allow yourself to worry about things in the future that are beyond your control. Except maybe the weather.  You should worry a lot about the weather and check it often.     

We're back at the hotel room after an amazing dinner, and if we can find the energy, we'll wander down to the jacuzzi and let some hot water and bubbles work their magic on our sore bodies.  Tomorrow we spend an extra day in Traverse City and allow our muscles to rest before riding to Cadillac. I'm pretty sure the ride to Cadillac will be excellent.  David just got some tough new tires at a bike shop close by, so I can say that with confidence.